France's parliament on Wednesday signed into law a controversial asylum and immigration bill – despite opposition on the left which decried an effort to limit arrivals while the far right saw the measure as not going far enough.

Asylum claims in France hit a record 100,000 last year, official figures showed Monday, as President Emmanuel Macron's government draws up hotly-debated new legislation on immigration.

 French President Emmanuel Macron's centrist party swept to a large majority in parliamentary elections on Sunday, although it fell short of a predicted landslide.

French President Emmanuel Macron's party is on course for an overwhelming parliamentary majority, after Sunday's first round of voting for the National Assembly left traditional parties in disarray.

French president-elect Emmanuel Macron's party on Thursday unveiled more than 400 candidates who will stand in parliamentary elections in June, with half of them newcomers to politics and half of them women.

Incoming French president Emmanuel Macron will on Thursday reveal a list of hundreds of candidates for his new centrist political party, as he seeks to win a parliamentary majority in next month's general election.

Incoming French president Emmanuel Macron was starting to build his centrist government Tuesday, with his former Socialist boss jockeying for position in a radically changed political landscape.

Pro-European centrist Emmanuel Macron promised Sunday to heal France's divisions after crushing far-right leader Marine Le Pen in a pivotal presidential election that has given him a large but fragile mandate for change.

Emmanuel Macron, winner of France's presidential election, said on Sunday he would "fight the divisions" in the country after a campaign that laid bare the "anger, anxiety and doubts" of many voters.

French presidential frontrunner Emmanuel Macron has rejected accusations he was resting on his laurels after winning the first round of the election, insisting "nothing's won yet" in the race against the far right's Marine Le Pen.